Here's a couple of interesting Japanese video commercials. The first is a promo for a shop specializing in vintage American bikes and features three classic rides.

It opens with a late 60s Stingray 3 speed Deluxe followed by a lemon colored Schwinn Breeze Deluxe. And last up is a Montgomery Wards Hawthorne which is a rebadged Monark Silver King. This is an aluminum frame bicycle from the 30s or 40s, I remember seeing one of these at a yard sale in the Belmont Shore area of Long Beach, CA. Who knew there were American made aluminum bicycles in the 1930s?

I converted the yen to dollars, and the prices seem fair. The Breeze, which is the most common of the three, comes in at around $625 at today's conversion rate. The Stingray is about $1500 and the Hawthorne/Monark $2500.

The next video is a heartwarming 1970s advertisement from Matsushita National (Panasonic) Bicycle of Japan. It's a moving story of two brothers. The older brother is an angry lad in short pants, resentful of his cuter and better dressed little brother. He's charged with the task of teaching his younger brother how to ride this super terrific happy gizmonic bike. Things do not go well. But just when it appears all hope is abandoned, the older brother makes one last convincing threat which does the trick. They finally reconcile after the younger boy rides off into a brownfield site, a bit wobbly but upright. Great joy ensues.

I love this bike... dual headlights, taillights, stick shift, front/rear racks. There seems to be some sort of thumb shifter up by the right grip. Not sure what that's about given the toptube stick shifter. Whatever, this thing is busier than a blue fly on pie! I added a couple additional pics of this style bike for your viewing pleasure.